Under different circumstances, Najala Howell would have broken out long ago for the UTEP women's basketball team.
The sophomore's talent, so obvious this season, was also apparent last year, just buried at the end of a deep, senior-loaded guard group.
So Howell mostly sat, watched, learned and waited for her time.
"I just had to keep going, having faith, believing," Howell said.
Her time has now arrived. Most notably it arrived in the final second of regulation Sunday against UTSA when her game-tying 3-pointer swished in and sent the game to overtime, her 20th point of a career afternoon.